


The Sun was Shinining Everywhere

by BusinessFish (OmniscientWreck), OmniscientWreck



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Anxiety Disorder, Cunnilingus, Eventual Smut, F/M, Multiple Orgasms, Oral Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:07:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22682188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniscientWreck/pseuds/BusinessFish, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniscientWreck/pseuds/OmniscientWreck
Summary: “What force is more potent than love?”- Igor Stravinsky“For suddenly, I saw you thereAnd through foggy London townThe sun was shining everywhere…”-George Gershwin
Relationships: Kabu (Pokemon)/Original Character(s), Kabu (Pokemon)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a cathartic College!AU I'm writing mostly to get some feelings of my own worked out. Suggestions and critique always welcome, please let me know what you think! This is my first slow burn, but hopefully not too slow ;)
> 
> Big thanks to feathers-and-fisticuffs on tumblr for reading the first bit of this and being so encouraging!!
> 
> (If anyone is just here for smut it's in Chapter 6, there's a little plot but you can skip past it... enjoy!)

Harper stopped playing, sighing deeply and resting her clarinet across her thighs. Running her fingers through her auburn hair she looked out the window of the tiny practice room she’d camped out in for the evening. Looking across the campus she realized with a start that it was darker than she thought. Checking her phone she cursed herself internally.

It was 12:30 and she had a tutorial to teach at 8:30. Not to mention she couldn’t remember what or when she’d last eaten. Packing up her instrument and humming Honegger to herself, Harper cursed university, she cursed her private teacher, and she cursed her own internal clock for not cluing her in to the hour of the night. 

For the winter semester she’d pledged to stop practicing until all hours of the night and try to actually get an adequate amount of rest every night. She wasn’t even a performance student anymore, but plugging away at a new piece of music always helped her destress from the academic hellscape she constantly found herself in. 

Academia was a natural choice for her in that she had a thousand opinions, loved to write, and constantly found herself hours deep in research rabbit-holes reading about the most obscure areas of Musicology. Academia was, in the same stride, an awful environment for her with her dozens of tattoos, outspoken political nature, and deep seated hatred of the classical music cannon. To say the least she was an outcast. But Harper loved nothing if not punishing herself, hence the 12:45 am timestamp as she left the building just to see her bus turning the corner. 

“Jesus fucking Christ” she muttered, the next bus wouldn’t be for another 45 minutes and she just had to get home sooner than that. Just as she was pulling up the number for a cab company she heard her name called. 

“Harper? What are you doing here so late?” She turned to see professor Kabu Ito, her music in politics seminar prof from the previous semester. Her hot music in politics seminar prof from the previous semester. 

“Oh, hi professor Ito! Just lost track of time while practicing,” she paused as he approached her “again. I’m just calling a cab to get me home, I am far to tired to wait for the next bus.” 

“Please, you’re a grad student, we’re practically colleagues, you can call me Kabu. I was just leaving myself after a night of marking the first years’ chorale harmonizations, do you live near campus? I could just give you a ride.” 

He was significantly older than her, Harper, just shy of 25 was in the second semester of her Masters of Musicology and professor Ito- Kabu had been teaching theory and history at the school for the past year and had quickly garnered a reputation as the hardest prof the faculty had seen for a long time. Harper disagreed. Kabu wasn’t a difficult grader, just a meticulous one with high standards, and performance majors hated high standards when it came to academia. 

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I’m about 15 minutes from here.” She was in no position to turn down a ride, not at this hour. “I have a tutorial to teach tomorrow and I’m already here much later than I wanted to be.” 

He nodded his head, “Of course, my car is this way.” They walked in silence for a minute, before Harper broke the silence. 

“So, chorale harmonization huh? That must have been tough to get through.” She thought back fondly to her days in the first year theory courses, desperately muddling through harmonizations, erasing the parallel fifths that always managed to creep into her work at the increasing exasperation of Opal, the now-retired theory prof from her undergrad. 

“Ah, a lot of mistakes of course, but thankfully nothing too outrageous. What were you working on? You’re a clarinetist right?” 

She nodded, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep inhale. “Just revisiting the Honegger I played at my final undergrad recital. It’s wild what a couple years away from a piece will do for how you hear it.” 

He looked over to her smoking and Harper thought she saw the smallest smirk creep into the crows feet decorating his eyes. “You know, it’s always the wind players who smoke, I never understood that. Inhibiting the organs that bring your sound to life.” 

She chuckled, “Yeah that’s true, but coping is coping I guess.” She took another drag and consciously blew the smoke away from her companion. “Do you do much playing anymore? What was your major?” 

“Not to sound ungrateful, but the workload they’ve unceremoniously thrusted into my lap doesn’t leave me much time for playing. I was a collaborative pianist during my undergrad and my first masters, but that gives you a real understanding of theory and the inner workings of music I wanted to explore so I switched trajectories.” 

She nodded knowingly, finishing her cigarette as they reached the parking garage. He lead her to the vehicle and unlocked the doors, throwing his bag in the back seat, both of them getting into the sedan. Turning on the car, cheesy jazz poured from the speakers and he switched to a bluetooth connection. He searched for a minute before hitting play and putting the car in gear. 

“You said Honegger right?” 

She nodded, “Yeah, have you heard the piece? It’s short but a huge challenge collaboratively.” 

“I don’t think I’ve heard it but the 20th century french composers wrote some incredible works.” She nodded and instantly began picking apart the recording. 

“Wow what the hell is up with this guy’s tone, it sounds like he’s sprung a leak.” 

Kabu let out a soft chuckle, “Oh really?” he looked over to her at the stop light and smirked, “Tell me more.” 

“I mean it could be the studio he’s in but holy shit this sounds so much less… pure than it should.” They sat in silence for a few minutes listening as he drove. The final movement started and she laughed, “Let me find you a better recording, this should not be your intro to this piece.” Waiting for a particular part she nearly jumped out of her seat, “That! That right there is supposed to be a gliss! He sounds like he’s having absolutely no fun with this music.” 

The recording ended and Harper was suddenly very self conscious. Her opinionated nature often got her into trouble, “Sorry, not to just dump all over this recording. There were definitely good aspects it’s just-” Kabu cut her off. 

“Why apologize? I agree, he sounded stilted and nervous. I’ll just have to hear you play it one day to really get a feel for the music.” 

“Oh god no, I’ll just send you a better recording, I’m not the authority on clarinetistry by any means.” 

She directed him to her apartment building and Kabu pulled the car over. “No, I really would love to hear you play it one day. It’s not technique that makes a piece, it’s passion.” he looked her dead in the eyes, “and you have plenty of that.” 

Her throat nearly closed, his eyes. Were they always like that? Cutting, all-seeing, there was a fire behind them. She felt like he could see everything going through her mind just with one intense gaze. 

Harper cleared her throat and collected herself, “Well, actually, I’m playing in a masterclass in a couple weeks, I don’t know that I’ll actually perform it outside of masterclass, but Leon really wants me to so you could go to that I suppose.” a nervous giggle bubbled from her throat and she blushed, mortified. She was not the kind of person who giggled. “I uh- I should be going, I don’t want to keep you. Thank you so much for the ride prof-” she stopped herself, “Kabu. I really appreciate it.” 

He nodded, “I’m usually at campus late and don’t actually live far from here so should you see me in my office after hours, my car is always open. Good night Harper.” 

She bid him good night and scurried into the building, waving to him as she fumbled with the keys and made her way in. I’m a fucking idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Harper prepares for a looming performance, she is reminded of what's held her back. Also she makes a complete ass of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, thanks for reading fam this is very self-indulgent of me to continue writing but hey I might as well give y'all some more Kabu content. I'm going to post a new chapter when I have 2 in the bank to keep me able to continue writing and hopefully not just leave this fic to die like so many of my others.

As Kabu waited to make sure Harper made it into her apartment he considered the offer. He really did need to start involving himself more in the goings on of the school outside of his own academia. He was also certain that one or two of his students would be playing in the class and surprising them by stepping in on a performance would be a good way to monitor their progress. He’d done it before for other students. 

And that, of course was the reason he suddenly felt compelled to attend. It clearly didn’t have anything to do with the gorgeous woman who’d just stepped out of his car. It certainly had nothing to do with the way she talked about playing and music. And he was certainly not going to decide at the drop of a hat to attend because of her. 

\----

Over the past few weeks, Harper had gotten a few more rides from Kabu. She was trying not to over extend her welcome and had even offered to grab him a coffee or pay for gas to make up for it but he would hear none of it. 

Ride after ride they were growing somewhat closer, and Harper had no clue what to do with that. Sure, she was on friendly terms with other professors she’d had, and TA’s who’d taught her in first year were now close friends, just take Leon for example. 

The guy had been her first year music history TA and now they were best friends. Being friends with people who taught you was certainly normal and definitely what was happening with Kabu. She absolutely felt completely platonically about him and did not have a metric ton of emotional baggage she needed to unpack.

Speaking of Leon.

He was just leaving for the night, and stopped in at her practice room to see if she needed a ride. “Nah Leon I’m good, but thank you. I have to put in some more time for masterclass in a couple days.” 

He laughed, “You take that shit way too seriously, it’s just a masterclass Harper! You couldn’t pay me to practice for those until 1 am.” 

She nodded, nerves bundling up within her, “I know, but not all of us can be child prodigies.” she winked at him and he rolled his eyes, “Plus it’s my first time playing in front of, well anyone, since I switched majors.” she sighed, this conversation was well tread territory with all of her friends but that didn’t make her anxiety any weaker. “I just need people to know I didn’t drop because I’m not good enough.” 

His eyebrows knotted and he walked over to where she sat, putting an arm on her shoulder, “You know that’s not what anybody thinks. Injuries happen, it’s okay kid. Rest, you’re going to play well because you’ll play like you care.” 

She looked up at her friend and smiled weakly, “Thanks man.” a deep sigh wracked her ribcage and the throb from her wrists urged her to stop. “You’re right, I should go home. It’s late.” 

He helped her pack up her instruments and offered her a ride again. A tiny voice whispered that she should wait for Kabu, but she shook it off. She didn’t want to seem, well, too intense. Besides, Leon was leaving now and who knew if Kabu was even still in the building. She hadn’t seen him walk past which he would have to do to leave the school, sure, but that meant nothing.

She nodded and grinned, “Yeah, that beats the bus, thanks.” as they walked back to his car they ran into Kabu who, sure enough was still there. 

Leon did a little wave, “Oh hey prof, what’s up?” 

Harper smiled at Kabu shyly, “Hey Kabu, another late night?” 

He rubbed at his eyes, “Let’s just say the theory one students are having a little more trouble with augmented sixth chords than I anticipated.” 

Leon nodded, “Oh god yeah those were the worst. I remember having to go over them a hundred times before it clicked.” 

Harper joined in, “Yeah, it didn’t fully click for me until Milo had a chance to explain it to me. He was such a godsend in first year. If you need alternate tactics I could always send you what he and I went over.” 

She caught herself, “Not that-” her heart was racing what the fuck did she just say, “not that you’re not perfecty capable of teachi-” Kabu waved her down, a look she couldn’t quite place in his eye. 

“No, no not at all, different approaches help different students I get it, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve but thanks.” He smiled and she couldn’t tell if his face held a slightly sharp amusement or… nope, not going there. Harper had likely fully insulted him and she would never recover from the sheer embarrassment.. 

Of course Leon didn’t pick up on the tension weighing on the three of them, so Harper cleared her throat “Uh, we’d better get goin’ Lee, I don’t want to keep you up to late. See you later professor!” She could hardly get the words out fast enough, flashed a peace sign for some fucking reason and scooted the two of them out of the building as fast as she could without making things even worse. 

The entire walk to Leon’s car she was just quiet, seemily deep in thought. Leon might have attempted to start a conversation or ask her a question but Harper was completely in her own world. What was she thinking insinuating he couldn’t handle his students holy shit. What if he thought she was an asshole? What if they never spoke again? What if he thought she was an idiot? Why did she care so much?

They got into the car and Leon was finally able to shake Harper out of her, “Dude what the hell was that?” 

She sighed and leaned her head back against the seat, “That was such an asshole thing to say holy shit.” 

Leon couldn’t help the incredulous tone his voice took, “What are you serious? That was nothing, why does it matter?”

She took a deep breath, “Well, see,” and explained the weird situation she’d found herself in, all of it. And despite the cringe inducing words flowing from her, she felt better after fully confessing her anxieties and feelings to Leon. “Like he was my professor what the fuck am I thinking.” 

The man beside her burst out laughing, “Oh my god dude no way does he hate you from a single comment. Do you remember the way Bede used to argue with him in class? A verbal slip up doesn’t matter. Besides, I’m sure he thought it was lightly amusing more than anything, you’re reading way too much into this.”

She huffed, “Well I’m glad you can take it so lightly.” she paused, “I’m so neurotic I can hardly even begin to address these feelings. That would make my idiotic crush so much weirder.” 

“I mean this is like, a normal experience you’re having, it happens more often than you’d think. I’ve definitely known profs who married their students.”

Harper smacked his arm half heartedly, “Jesus! I am not entertaining this, I need to sleep, let’s go.” anything to get out of Leon justifying her feelings. This was stupid and she needed to get over it. 

And yet, what if that was endearment playing behind his eyes?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper's injury resurfaces and a breakdown occurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always release a chapter when I have around 2 chapters written in advance and I've been writing like crazy today so expect frequent updates. Watch out for relatable university breakdowns and avoid if you need to (I am very familiar with the subject). As always please let me know what you think, I'm dying for some feedback. This is me getting back into writing after a long break so it's a bit rocky finding my voice again but with chapters to come I'm really getting there so please don't give up on me.

The next day she was completely over the anxiety. Mostly. Harper messaged Leon apologizing profusely and all he had to say back was “Dude ur good”. Thanks. 

The masterclass loomed over her head and she really didn’t need the extra distraction. After teaching her early tutorial, studying for a few hours, and going to her evening class she camped out in a practice room for what she told herself would be two hours. 

Harper practiced strategically, taking frequent breaks to continue reading, watch some videos and ensure she stretched out. She was doing everything Raihan taught her and frequently admonished her for forgoing. 

Until the very end. When it hit 11 she told herself she’d just play it through a few times and be done with it, that it wasn’t going to be that hard, it’s an 8 minute piece at most and she just needed to run it through a few more times. 

A few more times turned into her going over single intervals, slowing everything down, picking apart every single imperfection. Eventually her wrist gave out. 

“Oh fuck this!” Harper placed her clarinet on the stand and groaned wordlessly. Her right hand shook and her last two fingers were numb. 

The door slowly opened as she massaged her hand, she didn’t even look up, “Sorry for the outburst, I’ll be out of here soon.” 

“Harper, are you okay?”

She looked up and saw Kabu, worried lines wrinkling his brow, concern sunk into his face as he saw her kneading her hand. “Oh, hey.” a weak smile, “Yeah I’m fine, just a little thing I deal with.” 

She felt like every professor must have known about what happened with her injuries. She’d had to take a year off of playing and school and when she came back they’d told her she couldn’t play all the time, that she needed to avoid pain to stop the injury from worsening. 

Harper just loved nothing if not punishing herself. 

Kabu had slowly moved over towards her, “Do you need anything?” 

She shook her head and felt tears welling, “Sorry, this is embarrassing, I just need to pack it up and go I think.” Looking up at him she drew in a shaky breath, “i just pushed myself too hard.” 

Her hands clamped partly to stop the shaking but partly to calm the quiet anxiety that threatened to boil over. “Here, let me.” He delicately started to disassemble her clarinet and return it to the case. “You know, I get it.” 

Her brows gathered and she looked over to him, “What do you mean?”

He zipped her case shut, “I’ve been around, I get pushing yourself too hard, I understand the insatiable need to be better, to continue and grow and push yourself. And I know the feeling of being left behind.” 

She nodded “It’s not just that, it’s-”   
He put up his hand, willing her to let him talk, and continued, “I have heard about your switch into Musicology, professors are terrible gossips you know. And I’ve never had to deal with being denied the thing I want to do by my body that’s true, but I’ve seen these stories play out before and you’re going to end up much worse off if you don’t take care of yourself.”

Harper grew incensed at his words, “I am not everybody, I am no one you’ve met before and I’m not a fucking child.” she took a breath, he was still a colleague, he was still someone she respected, and he didn’t deserve her anger when he was only trying to help, and despite herself she could feel the anxiety taking over her words and found herself openly explaining herself to him “I need-” a deep breath “I need people to know I didn’t stop because I wasn’t a good enough player.” 

Her next breath shook, she willed herself not to completely break down in front of Kabu but nothing could stop her at this point. Tears were flowing, “God this is gross I’m sorry.” Kabu just stood while she dabbed at the slow tears with the sleeve of her over sized sweater. “I just have a lot of fucking feelings and I guess I’m just freaking out about tomorrow and I just wish this would stop.” 

He nodded and put a hand on her shoulder in solidarity and despite herself she leaned up into his hand just a bit. He had warm hands. 

“Need a ride Harper?” The care with which he said her name. Harper’s anxiety began to ebb and the exhaustion set in. 

“Yeah, if it’s not too much trouble.” 

They walked to the car and he carried her clarinet case for her as she lit a cigarette shakily. “Jesus christ I can’t even smoke properly.” Kabu chuckled graciously at her weak attempt at a joke. “So, I’m ah- sorry about the other day, I didn’t mean to overstep on that theory talk.” 

\---

He shook his head at her, “It’s ok, I really didn’t think anything of it. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know everything.” He couldn’t believe she was still thinking about that, incredulous that she would think he would have cared about an offhand comment like that. 

Her response made her seem so small, so defeated, “Yeah. Ok.” 

They got in the car and she slouched into the leather seat. Kabu connected his phone to the bluetooth and made a selection. Looking through his available albums he put on something he’d been listening to frequently in recent days. A piece that always took his mind off things.

“Oh Brahms 3, it’s one of my favourites. The clarinet lines are so amazing.” He smiled over at her before putting the vehicle in reverse. 

“I’ve loved it for years, it’s my favourite Brahms,” he paused, “in part because of the clarinet lines.” Leaving words unsaid ‘they make me think of you’. 

“Are you going to be okay to play tomorrow?” He was genuinely concerned for her health, but it also clearly meant a lot to her to live up to her own expectations. 

She puffed out a sigh, “Yeah, I’ll only be up there for 20 minutes at most. I’ve had it much worse.” He could tell she was choosing her words wisely and sat silently, waiting for her to be ready.

Harper turned to look at him, and her the words crept out, “Are you still thinking of going tomorrow? To watch the class I mean.” 

“Of course,” ‘you’ll be there’ “a few of students of mine are playing and I should really go to see them and-” he couldn’t even stop himself, “I do want to see you play the Honegger.”

He pulled up to her building, she didn’t even have to direct him any more. He realized Harper was still looking at him and he felt a warmth flood his cheeks. “Thanks for the ride. And the talk. Sorry I was so quiet.” 

He shook his head, “Harper, you need to stop apologizing when you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s okay. 

She nodded, “Thanks.” It was nearly a whisper, and she grabbed her case and left the car. Kabu was not expecting his heart to ache like this but he couldn’t help wishing he could reach out to her further, extend a hand, offer some kind of comfort when she was clearly so distressed. He pushed the thought from his mind and drove home, falling asleep with her face in his mind, not realizing that just a short drive away he haunted her too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm... inebriated. Here'e an update <3

Harper sat nervously in the audience, gripping her clarinet as Raihan with the bassoonist before her. Just like in their lessons he was kind and encouraging, putting the perfect amount of pressure to yield improvement without causing anxiety. 

As he talked on and got the player to try some breathing exercises she took in the room. The school concert hall was small and well overdue for renovations. The air in the hall was slightly musty and the seats protested when you sat in them. However, there was no denying the beauty in the decor throughout the hall. She’d played here dozens of time but knowing that a few rows behind her Kabu’s eyes were about to be trained on her, taking in her mistakes, her failures, every little thing she did. 

But he would also see and hear her successes and that filled her with determination. 

The other wind players in the audience clapped, pulling her out of her thoughts and she joined politely. The first years looked bored, a few of the seniors sat towards the back of the hall on their phones, some keeners hung keenly on Raihan’s every word. And right in the middle of it all was Kabu. And she could have sworn she’d seen him look away as though he’d been staring. 

She stood and passed Raihan as he went to rejoin the audience and he leaned over to her,  
“Just like our lessons ‘kay?” 

She smiled up at him “You got it dude.” Her pianist joined her on stage and she set her music on the stand, “Hey y’all, I’m gonna play the Honegger Sonatina today” she smiled to her peers and turned to the pianist to have him play a few tuning notes for her. She adjusted her instrument and beat herself up for introducing the piece before she tuned. 

She took a deep breath and began playing.

\--

As she begun playing, the nervous breath he held her released and Kabu felt the music wash over him. Her tone was rich, she brought out the story of the piece Kabu had heard more recordings of than he cared to admit. She slid from note to note with precision and grace. The tuning mistakes didn’t matter and he hardly even noticed when she occasionally tapered out on a note a little too early. 

Harper played with an air of mystery, switching to a restrained sense of tragedy in the second movement, her notes and phrasing fully capturing his attention. 

As the third movement started her pianist faltered, stumbling over the awkward phrasing. Kabu understood, but still felt for Harper. She regained the sense of rhythm and once she was adequately situated within the piano she really sang. The playful nature of the clarinet line danced and her fingers flew with a quick steadiness and any mistakes she may have made were instantly forgotten. Her face, the passion and joy that decorated her features was all he could pay attention to. 

The piece ended with flair and Kabu took a moment to match the polite applause of the audience he’d forgotten he was a part of. He tried to pay attention to the coaching as Raihan made his way on stage, obviously proud of his student, but Kabu’s mind couldn’t help but wander. 

\-- 

Harper’s coaching ended and Raihan dismissed the students. As she sat at the edge of the stage, unpacking her instrument with only a slight tremor in her hand some friends congratulated her and shuffled out of the stadium. She thought she heard Kabu talking with one of his students when Raihan diverted her attention. 

“Great job up there!” 

She smiled back up at him, “Thanks!” and continuing to put her clarinet away she talked on, “I actually felt quite good about that. Some tuning issues, a couple of flubs but overall not bad for my first time back on stage.”

He nodded up at her, “Absolutely. Is it cool if we cancel our lesson today? We did good work up there and you honestly deserve to rest a bit, I know you’ve been going hard.” 

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” she gave him a little wave, “See you next week.” 

He returned the wave and sauntered off. Harper huffed and jumped down off the stage, nearly falling when she heard someone say her name, “Harper.” 

She looked to see Kabu standing near the front row of seats, “Oh hey! You came, thanks!” 

He nodded, “I got a lot of good insight for tomorrow’s lessons. Some bad performance habits we’ll need to break.” 

She chuckled softly and they began walking. “I’m gonna grab a coffee I think, Raihan cancelled our lesson so I can actually dig into research for my presentation at the conference next month.”

He paused for a moment and she considered inviting him with her, maybe paying for his coffee to get him back for all of the rides. To get more time to talk to him. 

But she ended up not having to, “Is it okay if I accompany you? I have quite a bit of grading and research to do.” 

She smiled up at him, “Oh for sure!” and they headed in the direction of the campus cafe. They walked in silence, Harper far too nervous to ask the question pulling at her mind and assuming Kabu had nothing to say. 

They ordered (Harper got a latte and Kabu a black coffee) and she paid noting, “For in here please.” As they went to the counter to grab their coffees he looked at her, clearly confused, “Oh, sorry you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I just need a real break before I start working.” 

“If you don’t mind, I actually wouldn’t mind taking a break.” 

She smiled, “Of course not!” and was that, relief? She shook her head slightly and picked a table in the back. 

Holding the warm mug with both hands she steeled herself and finally asked what she needed to know, “So, what did you think?” 

He smiled at her and her fluttering heart nearly drowned out his words, “You played exceptionally. I was completely blown away.” 

Her cheeks flushed and she smiled brightly, “Thank you so much, I was actually proud of myself. I haven’t felt that in such a long time it fucking rocks. Though there were definitely some rough spots, the pianist didn’t give me the greatest start to the third movement but I found it eventually.” 

He let her go on for some time before she paused, realizing how long she’d been talking. “Oh sorry, I do actually want to know what you think. What can I improve?”

He just laughed softly, “Let’s start with the things you’ve done right, give yourself some credit.” she felt her face heat in embarrassment but he continued, “Your tone was excellent, yes there were a few slip ups, a waver here or there but what really drew me in was your emoting. You made me feel, and that’s impressive in and of itself.” She looked down at her half-finished latte and then up at him through her lashes.

“Why?” she smirked, “You don’t usually get teary-eyed listening to amateurs?” to be completely honest she was completely floored at such high praise and didn’t quite know what to do with herself. 

He smirked back at her, self-assuredly and- did Kabu’s voice lower? Just ever so slightly? “You’re not most amateurs.” she felt her facade falter, that was- hot. As if taken aback by his own words, he cleared his throat and leaned back slightly, “What I mean to say is, you played great.” He finished off his coffee and set his mug down. 

“I’d really ought to be going, I have, as I said, a lot of work to do.” 

Harper nodded, “Yeah I might actually research at home, I’m pretty exhausted. Thanks for joining me.” she did a small, awkward wave with one hand. 

He nodded curtly, “My pleasure.” and as he walked away she couldn’t help but go over the last half hour to try and figure out what had just happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the coffee debacle and with an out of town conference looming, tension between Harper and Kabu is at an all time high. Something's gotta give, but when?

It had been nearly a month since what Harper and Leon referred to as “the coffee incident”. After it happened she told him everything and they tried to decipher exactly what had happened that night. 

At Leon’s insistance she tried a less than subtle flirting tactic and was met with a wall of stoic non-reaction. Either she had misread the situation or something else was going on. She didn’t want to puzzle through what that could be, so she tried getting things back to normal. 

And they were decidedly normal. On the surface, she still found herself carefully going over their interactions, trying to find anything that explained his behavior over coffee. Their conversations stayed in safer territory, in fact at this moment as he drove her home the night before they’d both be heading to Wyndon for a musicology and music theory conference. Her paper on the rise of disco and resulting backlash had been accepted for presentation and he’d been asked to give a talk on the contrapuntal techniques of an obscure Italian Baroque composer. It was by no means her favourite subject, in fact Baroque music largely bored her, but letting him explain bought her time. 

Time to watch his face light up as he waxed poetic on a subject he cared deeply for. His silky baritone guided her around the intricacies of his research and she had time to allow herself to melt, just a bit. Just enough that she didn’t miss their conversation when she walked into her apartment alone. 

In the days before the conference Harper and Kabu found their schedules lining up as they both stayed late into the night making pre-conference preparations. Kabu was preparing lecture materials for Milo, the TA taking over his first year class while he was gone, and marking exams as well as making tweaks to his final presentation which he detailed to Harper. 

She, on the other hand was meticulously going over her paper, having Leon and anyone she could persuade to take a 15 minute break from practicing, listen to her presentation and ask any and every question they could think of. 

Harper had presented at small symposiums before, but this was much bigger than that. This was a yearly conference that happened in Wyndon where masses of acclaimed academics gathered to share ideas and present their lifes’ work. This was huge and she was terrified, but strangely confident. 

With all of the preparation talk they’d hit a stalemate and that was fine by Harper. Totally fine. It was completely fine, for example when Kabu drove her home from the school the night before the conference. He’d knocked at the grad student office door where she was running over the presentation once more, running a fine-toothed comb through everything. 

“Come in, it’s unlocked!” She hadn’t even taken her eyes off the screen. She held up one finger as she finished reading the presentation and saved it, shutting her laptop. “Hi Kabu, sorry to make you wait. The last run through, ya know?” 

She smiled genuinely and he smirked back at her, “You know, I’ve never known someone to be so detail oriented on their presentation alone. It must be a testament to the level of your research.” 

High praise. She rubbed at her eyes to obscure her face as she felt her cheeks heat just a bit. He cleared his throat, “Can I give you a ride?” 

She moved the laptop to her bag and zipped it shut, “Yeah, thanks.” 

They made idle chit-chat on their way to his vehicle, her sparking a cigarette, him good-naturedly ribbing her about the dangers of smoking. 

As they sat and he started his vehicle, her phone beeped. Opening the message she groaned, “Oh Christ, seriously?”

He looked over to her, concerned, “What is it?” 

A sigh, “My host cancelled, I have to find a new place to stay, this is going to be impossible.” 

\---

Kabu’s heartbeat accelerated. After the truly inappropriate coffee shop interaction, he had worried their relationship would change. That the warmth and affection he’d developed had scared her away, as it should. His feelings towards her were wholly inappropriate and yet he didn’t even know exactly what he wanted. Closeness? Intimacy? Maybe he wanted another to know him so he could be sure he existed. Perhaps it wasn’t that deep, maybe he just liked seeing her smile. 

She had been typing furiously, no doubt trying to find a place to stay, when he began speaking, although he’d hardly decided what he was about to stay as he offered for her to take the bed in the room he’d rented, “It’s in the conference hotel so you won’t have to worry about travel, and I’ll sleep on a cot or sofa.” 

What was he doing? There was no way she would say yes, and she should actually be a little uncomfortable that he’d even offered. Yet here she was responding, “I don’t want to be more of an inconvenience than I’ve already been.” She chuckled softly, playing it off as a joke, but the way she chewed her lip betrayed an anxiety he had an instinctive need to calm.

“Harper, you’re not an inconvenience, besides you’re highly unlikely to find anything else the day before the conference.” 

She nodded and they made plans. He would be there hours before her so there would be no issue with her getting into the room. They said good-bye and as he waited to make sure she got in the door safely, his stomach was doing flips. He had done something completely foolhardy and wholly inappropriate. He berated himself as he drove away, he was 46 and she was only 24. 

She deserved worlds better than an academic well past his prime. No matter how badly he’d come to want her he abjectly refused to be that selfish. He didn’t want to risk what closeness they had. 

\---

After an exhausting day of travel, Harper finally arrived at the hotel. Stepping out of the taxi, she took in the city. Buildings competed for sunlight as pedestrians filed neatly along the sidewalks, cyclists flew past in their lanes, and even the cacophony of vehicles weaving in and out of each other was somehow more efficient than Hammerlocke. 

She checked her phone seeing that Kabu had messaged her the room number, assuring her he’d be there when she arrived. She desperately needed a shower and some prep before her presentation, and she needed to catch the few talks before hers, and then Kabu gave his presentation after dinner. 

She texted him, letting him know she’d be up soon, and started up the elevator. It’d be lying to insist she wasn’t nervous about this cohabitation. At this point she hardly knew where she stood with him, he seemed so aloof whenever she showed any warmth, but she would catch him looking at her or see something genuine behind his eyes when he smiled at her. 

Harper just knew something had to give, there was too much tension to possibly continue this way. She just hoped it held until after their presentations. Standing in front of the door, about to knock, Harper could feel in her stomach that something was going to change. 

He came to the door upon her knock, nodding at her. Pillows and a blanket were already stretched across the tiny couch in the main area of their room. She hung her coat and thanked him again for letting her crash, attempting not to note how close their quarters really were. 

“It’s nothing. How are you feeling about tonight?” 

She pulled two energy drinks out of her bag and grabbed her toiletries and a change of clothes laughing, “Ready as I’ll ever be. You?” 

He scoffed at the caffeine loaded cans and shrugged, “It goes how it goes. I’m confident and well-prepared.” 

She admired his ability to face what caused her so much anxiety with such grace. Shaking her head she started towards the bathroom, “I’ve been sitting all day, gotta shower and get ready.” He hardly reacted, sitting to read. 

\---

Watching Harper get ready was fascinating. Not that he was watching. Not that he didn’t catch her looking his way a few times when he glanced in her direction. She showered and came out in sweats and a t-shirt. He’d never seen her so casual. It felt close, trusting. He didn’t realize the subtle differences that came from the daily make up she wore. Putting various products in her hair, she then blow-dried it, coming out with a poof of auburn, needing to be tamed. She ran a straightener through it and pulled it back into a simple pony tail. Kabu thought it looked elegant. 

Then came the makeup. She asked him if she could play music and he obliged, assuming she would pick something classical, but instead some moody folk music streamed through her phone. She sung along as she laid down a second skin, evening things out, a smudge of black here, flick of the wrist there. It was nearly an artistic process. He noticed the slight quake of her wrist by the time she was finishing. While concerned, he said nothing so he wouldn’t add to her stress. 

With just over two hours remaining until her presentation they’d both changed and were ready to go. A last bout of nerves came over her and he walked over to her, noticing her brow furrowing and the fear in her eyes. 

“Harper.” she looked up at him as he touched her shoulder, squeezing gently, “You’re going to do well. You’ve worked very hard, what you’ve told me of your research is sound, and it’s interesting. You’ve done valuable work and you’re ready for this.” 

Her features relaxed and he swore she leaned into his touch, just a little bit. She smiled weakly up at him, “You’re right, let’s go.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Passions ignite. As it turns out, academia can be sexy? (I'm awful at summaries, here's some SMUT).

Kabu sat in the middle of the audience, nowhere too suspicious, but not out of sight. There were a number of people in attendance already. She was introduced and she spoke. She was eloquent, well spoken, her presentation perfectly enhanced her words and her voice sang out over the crowd. He noted the difference in her demeanour from the events surrounding her performance. Academia suited her, and she looked comfortable here. He did admit that her looks weren’t what you’d expect from an academic, but he admired her immensely for her dedication to her own authenticity. You didn’t often see academics with hand tattoos or facial piercings, but the glint of her septum ring and the light line work decorating her hands charmed him, they made her unique, unlike anyone he’d seen before. 

The polite applause at the end of her presentation was far less than she deserved and the imbecillic questions she was posed were hardly worth answering in the first place. Kabu’s heart filled, watching her talk passionately, responding and forming counter arguments effortlessly. Watching someone care about something was truly amazing. Watching Harper care about something was electrifying and Kabu didn’t quite know how to handle the wave of heat rushing through him as he observed her energy, her determination, and just how beautiful she looked when she explained the things that mattered to her. He was completely enraptured and when she sat back down beside him, he did his best to compose himself. “Excellent job.” 

She beamed over to him, “Thank you, I feel really good about how that went.” 

After the paper following her, they broke for dinner and Kabu suggested they go somewhere quieter than the conference hotel and she agreed. Harper seemed to be coming down from her high and joked that she desperately needed a coffee. 

They sat at a small deli not far from the hotel and he bought her food. The restaurant was pleasant and quiet, smooth jazz covers played quietly in the background and Kabu allowed Harper to debrief from her presentation. 

She went over every detail and while he was listening, he was mostly watching her face. Observing the emotions running across her features and looking to him for reassurance and validation.

She hardly needed it. She was a talented speaker and had good, strong ideas. Her hand laid idly on the table beside her newly refilled coffee mug as she wound down and their food was nearly gone. 

“Thanks for letting me rant at you. I know I must sound crazy but it’s kind of an essential part of the process.” She laughed easily and despite himself, Kabu hesitantly rested his weathered hand atop her ornate hand, brushing his fingers across the ornate lines and dots that resided there.

His heart accelerated and her eyes widened as she looked directly at him, “Truly you did fantastically and you should be proud.” 

Contrary to everything he’d expected, she turned her hand over, squeezing his. “Thank you.”

They lingered, and then he cleared his throat, pulling them both out of the moment. “We should probably go soon, I have to be at the hotel soon.” 

As they walked back to the hotel, he could swear she let her hand brush against his just often enough that it couldn’t have been an accident. 

\---

As Kabu talked, Harper was enraptured. Baroque theory had never been interesting to her before. She had honestly never cared much, but he made it fascinating. The hand touch at dinner had seriously emboldened her and watching him talk with such authority. Such confidence. She had never been so attracted to someone and she knew something was about to change, she would make it change.

He knew exactly what he was talking about. He worked the room in exactly the right way for academics, with a shy charisma. She watched as he deftly struck down questions challenging his conclusions or questioning his reasoning, never wavering, never doubting. As his hands went across the presentation, outlining the contours of the lines, she couldn’t help thinking about the warm weight of his hand on hers. How it would feel to hold his hand. How it would feel wrapped around her or tangled through her hair. 

She blushed in her seat, in a sea of faces, not knowing what had come over her. She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d gone absolutely insane. But he had touched her hand. Kabu made the move and she felt like she had to reciprocate. And honestly, with the combination of adrenaline from presenting, and the affirmation that maybe she wasn’t completely crazy Harper though she could. Maybe there really was something between them. And they were sharing a room. 

She was roused from her thoughts as the room broke out into a restrained applause and the night was over. She waited on Kabu as he spoke with colleagues and a few other graduate students from other schools congratulated her on her paper, discussing her thoughts and explaining their own studies to her. She listened intently, keeping a watchful eye on Kabu. 

As he broke away from his conversation she excused herself and met up with him, the pair walking towards the elevators. “Congratulations on your presentation Kabu, that was actually really interesting.” 

He quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her, “Actually?” 

She laughed and his smile widened, “You know what I mean. I’ve just never seen you that excited about presenting before. I’m not a Baroque fan by any means but I found your studies really intriguing. And-” she looked up at him through her lashes, “You’re really a great speaker.” 

They stepped into the elevator, sharing an uncomfortable silence with some other strangers until they were the only ones left on the elevator. She looked up at him only to find he’d already been observing her. You could cut the tension with a knife and there was something nearing hunger in the way he was looking to her. 

They made their way back to the room and as he closed the door behind him and she turned around, trapping him. 

Her heart was racing and she knew she would never get another chance. Even if it ruined everything, she had to try. 

Walking up to him, inches away from him, squaring up to his chest she looked directly into his eyes, “You know, I really enjoyed watching your lecture.” 

He swallowed, his pupils grew. She brushed a hand delicately against his arm and continued, “When you talk, you’re so, intense. You’re fiery, and you’re passionate, and I really like that.” placing a hand on his chest, she raised up on her toes only to find him meeting her half way, his lips capturing hers, hands wrapping around her waist.

She gasped lightly, giving him room to sneak his tongue past her lips and she put a hand around his shoulder, bringing him closer. The kiss deepened and as they came up for air she moved to slide off his blazer. 

Kabu was always well dressed, choosing muted colours that complimented each other for his well tailored suits. As she started to undo his tie he stopped her, “Are you sure?” He looked so serious, but his breathing was heavy and when he swallowed his adam’s apple bobbed deliciously. 

“Listen, I’ve never been so sure. Whatever protest about age or what’s proper that you feel you have to say, you can do while I’m taking off your clothes, but I’m sure if you are.” She was panting, waiting for his response. 

As the gears turned he grinned slyly at her, “I’m as sure as you are beautiful.” 

She blushed bright red and tugged the knot until his tie came off sighing happily as he returned to kissing her as she first shrugged off her sweater, and moved on to work his shirt open. The silver hair decorating his chest matched his head and she ran her fingers through it, grazing over his warm, toned chest, grabbing and gently pulling, eliciting a low moan that sent heat to her stomach. He shrugged off his shirt and continued the kiss, moving her towards the bed.

As the backs of her knees hit the bed, he held her close and ground into her and she could feel his hardening length through the front of his dress pants. He broke them apart and pulled the dress over her head, exposing the pale, freckled skin beneath that had begun to flush red with her arousal. His hands spread over her clavicle, thumbs tracing the designs there, tracing back over her shoulders until finally they crept over her tits. His rough hands completely covering her modest breasts and he thumbed over the thin fabric, finding her nipples by her moans. “God you are so perfect.” he muttered, moving down to pull her leggings over her substantial ass and encouraging her to sit on the bed.

Kabu was flushed and disheveled as he looked up at her, “May I?” he slipped his fingers between the skin of her hips and her underwear and she nodded eagerly, completely helpless to what he was about to do to her. 

He slid off her panties and gently spread her thighs, kissing from her inner knee to her heat, kissing over the abstract colour work that had resided there, decorating her skin for years. The art she often forgot was there seemed to meserize him. He kissed along and took his sweet time winding up Harper more and more as he approached her heat. He whispered sweet words between kisses and as he finally licked a stripe up her slit his name escaped her lips. 

“Oh fuck, Kabu please.” He looked up at her, hunger and passion in his eyes. 

“Only because you asked nicely.” He teased before licking up her cunt again. 

She was embarrassed at the high pitched whine that bubbled up out of her throat, but still he was relentless. He used his fingers to part her lips and tongued her hole, pressing kisses into her. 

Her right hand wound into his hair as he ate her pussy, left hand supporting her on the bed. After what seemed like eternity, he focused in on her clit and she sang. Hand tightening in his hair, he growled against her, sucking down on her clit, thrusting two fingers into her heat until she was quaking. She had never had a lover so attentive, she hardly had to guide him at all. Heat radiated from her core and she felt it in her shoulders, her calves, her fingertips, her body entire body was alight for him and she knew she was his. Kabu didn’t let up as she tried to grind into his face, desperate warmth coiling tight at the base of her stomach, springing open with a slight graze of his teeth. As she came undone he drank her juices, looking up at her, mouth drenched with her arousal. He stood over her with surprising dexterity and she undid his belt, eager to see him. As she worked his pants and briefs off he reached around to deftly unclasp her bra. 

“Wow you are way too good at that.” she panted at him, still coming down after her orgasm. 

“It comes with age.” he teased, standing up and asking her to move further down the bed, and she sat up admiring him. 

Fully exposed, she took in the full sight of him. His body was lithe and surprisingly toned for a professor. She ran her hands down the V of his hips, enjoying the way he rocked into her. His cock, completely hard, bobbed down as she moved back to lay across the bed and he knelt over her, leaning down to kiss her as she grasped his length, stroking as he moaned. He was of average length, but wide. Her hand nearly didn’t fit around him. 

“Oh shit Harper, you are- this is-” she had never seen him so unravelled before, and it was gratifying to see him as undone as she felt, she’d never seen him any less than professional and knowing she was doing this to him? Damn. 

“Fuck it’s hot when you swear.” she returned, slightly tightening her grip on him. 

He retorted by fingering her folds and slipping two fingers back into her heat, swiftly adding a third when he realized exactly how wet she was. “Are you ready for me angel?” 

She laid back, spreading her legs and playing with her tits, wanting to paint an obscene picture for him. Kabu looked down at her with hooded eyes, positioning himself in front of her, “You look positively sinful my darling.” Before realizing, “I don’t actually have a condom.” 

“I’ve been tested recently and I have an IUD. You can use a condom if you’re more comfortable that way, but if you know you don’t have anything you don’t have to. He affirmed he didn’t have anything playfully questioned her having a condom in the first place, leaning down to hover right beside her ear. “It’s almost like you were planning something.” his voice was low and suggestive and scratchy and it drove her absolutely wild. “Listen, a good scout is always prepared.” God why couldn’t she talk normally to him. 

Any insecurity left her mind as he captured her lips again and pushed into her, stretching her cunt wide and groaning a deep, possessive, “Fuck Harper…” he trailed off, giving her a moment to settle. 

When she’d adjusted, she gently rocked her hips and he started pumping, gently at first, the friction filling her with white hot bliss. As he moved more, he disconnected from her mouth and kissed her left breast, leaving a mark on the underside, biting down and sucking, Harper trying to keep her exclamations quiet as she was sure they would get complaints. 

He latched on to her nipple and as he fully pulled out of her for the first time she whined. He thrust back into her at a punishing speed, biting down on her nipple, her whining his name as her toes curled into the sheets and she tried frantically to match his pace. She realized her eyes had closed in the throes of his passion and upon opening them saw the older man, usually so put together, the man who had seemed so unattainable, thrusting into her, filling her, making her his. She lightly raked her nails along his back as their hips met again and again. “More.” he growled, an order she happily followed, digging into his shoulder blades as he groaned. “Kabu holy fuck.” Normally Harper would be mortified by the tone of her voice. She sounded desperate, and needy as she whined and sighed for him. 

He bit down on her neck and she clamped down around him. He moved by her ear, “Harper, I’m close.” he muttered, focusing in on maneuvering his hand down to find her clit between them. As he stroked the bundle of nerves, she keened, “Me too, cum for me Kabu, fill me up, make me yours.” and just as she spilled over the edge his thrusts got more erratic, cumming in her cunt, filling her, and crying her name as she rode out wave after wave of electric heat as he continued relentlessly at her clit, coaxing her into a second orgasm. 

As she came down, he gently pulled out, stopping her from getting up and kissing her gently, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” She heard him moving around in the bathroom while she worked on catching her breath. He cleaned himself off and brought back a warm towel and cleaned her with the gentlest touch. “How are you feeling?” 

He looked vulnerable, almost afraid. As if after that she could ever go back, “You’re amazing, and I’m exhausted.” 

Relief settled on his features, and he made to go to the couch, “Absolutely not sir,” she winked and he blushed at the title. She’d have to remember that, “You’re not sleeping on that couch. Get over here.” He grabbed his pillows and joined her. They fell asleep naked, her head on his chest, and both their hearts full.


End file.
